Expected outcome:
Outcomes and deliverables
- Contributions to European and international standards and regulations in PQC
- Workshops, white papers and other activities to support synergies between different sectors transition to PQC
- A European PQC migration roadmap, which can be the basis for sector-specific roadmaps
- Actions supporting the European PQC community
- Development of standards for hybrid cryptographic systems (pre- and postquantum encryption systems) for encryption, key encapsulation mechanisms, digital signatures, etc. and for the PQC integration in the existing digital infrastructure .
- Support for participation of relevant European experts in European and international cross-topical standardisation bodies in order to integrate PQC whenever new cryptographic standards are developed or existing ones are updated especially for critical sectors like energy, transport, health, and finance.
Objective:
Proposals should aim to strengthen Europe’s efforts on the transition to PQC by supporting European and international standardisation activities, delivering a comprehensive European PQC industrial migration roadmap and raise awareness regarding PQC endeavours. This should be achieved in particular through the following strategic actions:
- Organisation of events, workshops, stakeholder consultations, and production of white papers to fostering the development of harmonised standards on PQC.
- Support for participation of relevant European experts in European and international standardisation fora relating to PQC.
- Community-Based PQC Migration Roadmap: Foster a collaborative process involving research and industry stakeholders to formulate a robust European PQC migration roadmap, which can be the basis for sector-specific roadmaps.
- Widespread Dissemination of PQC Outcomes: Promote broad awareness and understanding of European PQC achievements through extensive dissemination efforts spanning various platforms, including social media. This includes outreach events and structured dialogues with the general public, exploring ethical and societal dimensions of PQC, especially in terms of privacy, security, public trust, and acceptance.
- Research Dissemination Services: Provide specialised dissemination services targeting relevant communities, such as European cybersecurity providers and users, effectively sharing research insights.
- Identifying Training and Infrastructure Needs: Identify crucial requirements for training, education, and infrastructure to advance PQC development.
Scope:
Proposals are expected to engage in concrete standardisation efforts within both European and international standardisation forums, where PQC will play a pivotal role in the near future and where progress in standardisation will augment existing cybersecurity capabilities and create a competitive edge upon Europe. Also, in alignment with projects resulting from the topic “Transition to Quantum-Resistant Cryptography” (call HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-03) and the topic Deployment of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) systems in industrial sectors (in this work programme), the proposals will incorporate practical strategies to coordinate and synergise European research and innovation endeavours with PQC standardisation initiatives.
To this end, proposals should establish a proactive presence and take on leadership roles in orchestrating and shaping international standards and regulations for PQC. This can either be in existing standardisation activities and bodies or, where relevant, by contributing to creating new standardisation activities in existing groups and/or creation of new groups.
Deadline date: 26 March 2024 17:00:00 Brussels time
For more information, please visit the European Commisssion website.
